English in Special Needs Classes

Amanda Adams

At elementary schools and junior high schools in Japan, special needs students are incorporated into the local public school life. At the high school level, special needs students may be enrolled at a school for special needs.

This section contains advice for ALTs that teach special needs students at non-special needs schools.

Special Needs Students

Q: What do you mean by “special needs”?

A: Students who have needs that are special.

Special needs classes include students with all kinds of disabilities. At first, you might try to diagnose students based on your own understandings of autism, Down’s syndrome, and social anxiety disorder. Soon, hopefully, you’ll admit you don’t know much beyond a general psych class you took in college and you’ll give up guessing. Plus you will probably never hear an explanation beyond, “special needs,” “too shy,” “handicapped,” and even “retarded” from your fellow teachers.

So, just take the students as they are. Each student will have different strengths and weaknesses. Some will never make eye contact with you. Some will never stop saying, “Good morning! How are you?” Some will shy away from you. Some will follow you around the school. Some will never speak Japanese. Some will speak better English than your 3rd year students in regular classes. Indeed, you may have some special needs students in your regular English classes.

If you feel uncomfortable and don’t know how to behave around a student, follow the lead of the teachers around you. At most schools, all of the teachers will have some kind of relationship with the students, especially at elementary schools. If you still feel uncomfortable, ask a JTE for their advice.

Objectives/Roles of the ALT

Q: What can I do as an ALT?

A: Just be your friendly English speaking self.

Keep in mind, you are not here as a teacher trained to teach special needs students. Even if you have experience with the same kinds of students in your home country. So don’t stress too much about it.

That said, just be your friendly self. Speak as much English to the students as they can handle. Inside and outside of class. In their eyes, you are the friendly foreigner, the teacher who is always in the staffroom, and the one everyone says “Good morning” to and not “Ohio gozaimasu.” Talk to them outside of class! Answering your simple English questions can make their day.

A lot of ALT’s find they have made a special friendship with the special needs students by the end of the year.

Planning and Conducting Class

Q: What can I do before class?

A: Think about the students first.

What you plan for class truly depends on the students. Sometimes a class may only have one student, sometimes more depending on the size of the school. When you are planning class, keep in mind what the students strengths are outside of English.

Can they communicate in Japanese? Can they draw? Can they play card games? Can they write? Can they sing? Can they follow directions in Japanese? What are they doing in their other subjects? Are they learning Kanji? Are they making something in wood class? Are they practicing shopping?

Also, keep in mind what might be difficult for them.

Are they easily scared by new people? Do they like to stay in one place? Do they speak to the other students? Do they speak to the other teachers?

Q: What do I do in class?

A: Keep it simple.

Then plan a class that is simple and based around one or two activities. You can do these activities several times in one class. Also, the next time you see the students you can do the same or similar activities again. Repetition is good!

In your other classes, you might be trying to keep the pace up and the energy high. Often, special needs classes will be much slower and much calmer. Don’t worry about keeping their attention. Their attention is on you, you are a very special guest. Even if they are looking the other way. And sometimes they are just tired. So take it easy.

Q: Like what kind of activities?

A: All kinds! There is NO textbook!

You can focus on all kinds of things: simple vocabulary, playing a board game, card games with English and Japanese, making cards or materials for different holidays, looking at pictures from your home country or your vacations.

Things I have done in special needs class include: drawing vocabulary flash cards for sea animals, playing the Othello game (black and white chip board game), playing a card game with Japanese and English expressions, learning the song “Row, row, row your boat,” writing the school song in English letters, looking at my friend’s wedding pictures from America, and making a paper turkey for Thanksgiving.